A flatmate leaves: notice, replacement and deposits in France
A housemate's departure involves several dates and records. Notice, the end of current payments, the possible end of joint liability and a replacement joining are not one event.
This guide concerns French main-residence shared housing. First distinguish one shared lease from individual contracts; married and civil-partner couples need separate consideration.
1. Identify which contract continues or ends
Under a single lease, the contract generally continues with remaining co-tenants. A departing person can give notice without general permission from everyone else to leave. Consent may nevertheless be needed for a contractual change admitting a replacement.
With an individual lease, departure concerns that room's contract and associated access rights. Check the spaces and equipment covered rather than applying whole-property accounting indiscriminately.
2. Establish valid notice and its end date
Check notification, receipt, the applicable period and evidence for any reduction. Moving furniture out does not replace the legal notice end date. Our tenant notice guide covers these checks.
Record receipt, notice expiry, key handover and the replacement's contractual entry separately. Giving keys to another housemate is not always the handover required by the landlord.
3. Check financial consequences
| Issue | Single lease | Individual lease |
|---|---|---|
| Outgoing person's current payments | Check the relevant share and joint-liability clause | According to their contract and notice |
| Replacement | Formalise entry into the continuing contract | Consider a new room contract |
| Deposit | No automatic individual refund by the landlord | Account for the ended contract's deposit |
| Condition reference | Targeted history without erasing the original record | Compare spaces covered by that contract |
With a single lease and joint liability, obligations can continue after notice within statutory limits. Ending future liability does not erase an existing debt. Our joint-liability guide distinguishes dates and guarantor commitments.
4. Record replacement without false backdating
Identify the newcomer, entry date, required signatories and guarantees. Check home insurance too. Someone admitted through a private arrangement with a housemate does not automatically become a named tenant.
A lease amendment should identify the change and effective date. Do not overwrite the signed original or invent an earlier replacement to remove a liability period. The departing person's valid notice does not depend on this amendment first being signed.
5. Handle condition records and deposits
A targeted departure and arrival record is useful for bedrooms and common areas. Keep it consistent with previous references rather than treating every defect as new. Read the shared-housing inspection guide.
Under a single lease, a departing person cannot automatically require the landlord to repay “their share” of the common deposit immediately. Housemates and the newcomer may discuss and document an arrangement, but this does not turn the common deposit into individual deposits. For independent contracts, apply the deposit return rules to the tenancy ending.
6. Example chronology
Ana's notice ends on 15 March. A replacement joins the lease with effect from 1 May. For an ordinary shared lease with joint liability, check that date when determining the end of future obligations. Outstanding April debts do not disappear on 1 May.
Keep notice, delivery evidence, amendment, condition records, payments and any financial agreement together. Our document retention guide helps preserve an intelligible chronology.
Frequently asked questions
Must the whole lease be replaced at every departure?
Not necessarily. First establish whether the contract continues, then formalise the necessary changes.
Does moving out release the guarantor?
Not always. Check the undertaking, lease and statutory termination rules. A guarantor is not the same as a security deposit.
Sources checked on 29 October 2026: official shared-housing rules (opens in a new tab), debts after departure (opens in a new tab), Article 8-1 of the 1989 law (opens in a new tab). General information about French law.